CV0-004 Security Practice Question
A cloud administrator manages an AWS environment where developers require temporary, least-privilege access to specific S3 buckets. The administrator wants to avoid creating long-term IAM user credentials and needs the ability to audit who assumed which role and when. Which AWS service should be used to issue short-lived credentials for these developers?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse IAM access keys with temporary credentials, assuming that any IAM-issued key is short-lived when in fact access keys are long-term unless explicitly rotated.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Security Token Service (STS)
The requirement is for temporary credentials that expire automatically and can be audited. AWS STS provides exactly that through mechanisms like AssumeRole, which returns short-lived credentials associated with an IAM role. CloudTrail records the AssumeRole call, giving the administrator visibility into who assumed which role and when. Other options either provide long-term credentials or do not issue credentials at all.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS Security Token Service (STS)
Why this is correct
AWS STS issues temporary, limited-privilege credentials that expire after a defined duration. By calling AssumeRole, developers receive short-lived credentials tied to an IAM role, and AWS CloudTrail logs the AssumeRole event for auditing. This directly satisfies the need for temporary access without long-term IAM user credentials and provides the required audit trail.
- ✗
AWS Key Management Service (KMS) data keys
Why it's wrong here
KMS data keys are cryptographic keys used to encrypt and decrypt data, not identity credentials for accessing AWS services. They do not authenticate users or grant permissions to S3 buckets. While they are temporary in the sense of being generated for encryption, they are unrelated to the need for temporary developer access and auditing of role assumption.
- ✗
AWS Organizations service control policies (SCPs)
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are used to set permission guardrails across accounts in an organization. They define maximum permissions but do not issue any credentials, temporary or otherwise. They cannot grant developers access to S3 buckets on their own; they only restrict what IAM policies can allow. Therefore, they do not fulfill the requirement for short-lived credentials.
- ✗
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) access keys
Why it's wrong here
IAM access keys are long-term credentials that remain valid until manually rotated or deleted. They do not provide temporary, automatically expiring credentials and are not suited for granting time-bound least-privilege access. Using them would increase the risk of credential leakage and does not meet the requirement to avoid long-term credentials, making this choice inappropriate for the scenario.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CV0-004 exam.